Chasing a Dream and a Cup
by barefoot and buckwild
Summary: A collection of unrelated stories written for the Quidditch League Competition. viii: Not all fairytales have happy endings and this is no exception
1. Good Times Gone Bad

AN: This is written for round one of the Quidditch League. This is also the first time I've written Lily and Snape, so if it's terrible, I can understand that. Please leave a review and tell me what you think? :)

Team: Harpies

Position: Chaser 3

Prompts: purple, leaving, "Imagining the future is a kind of nostalgia."

Disclaimer: While most of the writing from the flashback came directly from the book, I don't own anything Harry Potter related and I'm only writing this for my enjoyment.

* * *

Good Times Gone Bad

The night sky was slowly turning a little pinkish, purplish tint as the sun was starting to set. Lily Evans was sitting in the corner of the Head Girl and Boy's common room, staring out of the window. She couldn't believe that in just a couple of days, her Hogwarts life would be over and she'd be out in the real world. She never believed that the seven years would have flown by as quickly as they had.

She sighed before standing and making her way over to the portrait hole to take a walk around the castle. When she reached the sixth floor landing, her feet started walking in the familiar pattern that she took on numerous occasions. The Astronomy Tower has always been Lily's place to go whenever she needed time to herself or a quite place to think.

She didn't know if it was the view of the grounds or the beautiful night sky that drew her towards the tower, but she had always gone there.

Eventually she found herself climbing up the spiral staircase that led to the tower. She could hear movement coming from the other side of the door as she neared it and couldn't help but wonder who could be there at this time of night.

She pushed the door open and saw someone who she really didn't want to see again. Someone who she thought was her friend, but of course she couldn't have been more wrong. Someone who could call another person such a horrid word wasn't a friend of hers.

"What are you doing here?" She heard the words but couldn't believe that she had actually spoken them. "Shouldn't you be in your dormitory?"

He turned around to face her. "I could ask you the same question. What are you doing, stalking me? I thought that was below you. I guess Potter's arrogant ways have rubbed off on you."

Lily felt her eyes narrow. "You have no right to talk about James after what you've done."

"What _I've_ done?" he retorted. "What about everything _he's_ done."

Lily took a breath. "Sure James has annoyed me constantly since first year and has gotten loads of detentions, and pranked people; but he's _never_ called a Mudblood. You have and I don't think I could ever forgive you for that."

"I don't want your forgiveness," he growled.

"You've changed so much, Severus," Lily said, disappointment high in her voice. "And not in a good way."

"I really don't care about your opinion of me. I don't think you're a good judge of character."

Lily crossed her arms over her chest. The tension between them rising at every minute. "I guess I'm not, seeing as I believed that we could be friends," she scoffed. "How could I have been so stupid?"

"Well, you've agreed to go out with _him_, so that should tell you a lot."

There's a moment of silence between them. One in which Lily realizes that she may truly hate him. She does hate him. She's hated him ever since that dreadful day. She had only wished to help him and he dared call her that dreadful word.

"I hate you," the words tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them.

In the light from the still setting sun, Lily can see the smirk that appeared on his lips. "I know that and I don't care. It doesn't change anything."

A few moments of silence past between them and in that moment, Lily was trying to calm herself down. Her short temper was trying to get the better of her and she didn't want it to win.

"You're going to join _them_, aren't you?" she asked, after a while.

He just shrugged. "Maybe, maybe not; but I don't see why it would matter to you. As you said, you hate me."

She was silent for a moment as she wondered how their relationship had come to still. She remembered the simpler days when Severus was one of the few friends she had and was one of the first friends she had upon starting Hogwarts. Now, she could hardly stand to be in the same room as him.

"Just forget everything," Lily said as she started for the door. "Forget what a pitiful friendship we had and forget me."

Lily quickly turned on her heel and walked out of the Astronomy Tower, wondering how things could go from good to bad so easily.

_People change, Lily. You of all people should know that. _

"Ever since that day," Lily said aloud to herself.

* * *

_It was a nice day and many Hogwarts students were enjoying the day outside. Lily Evans sat near the black lake with her friend Marlene._

"_Has James stopped asking you out every chance he gets?" Marlene asked. _

_Lily shrugged. "He has for now, but I highly doubt that he's going to stop. He's probably just waiting before he asks again, as if I'll say yes because he's left be alone for a while."_

"_I think he really likes you," Marlene said. _

"_He's James Potter," Lily reminded her. _

"_That doesn't mean that he doesn't have real feelings for you," Marlene retorted. _

_Lily looked out at the Black Lake. "I'm sure once he gets tired of me always turning him done, he'll be on the hunt for another girl to bug."_

"_I don't know about that, Lily," Marlene told her. "He's been trying for about a year and a half now. Usually he would have moved on by now."_

"_Potter loves a challenge and he's also thick headed; he'll get the hint one of these days," Lily stated. _

"_I don't know about that, Lily," Marlene replied. _

_Lily started to say something, but loud voices caused her to turn her head. She rolled her eyes at what she saw. James, his three lackeys were walking towards the group of trees. _

_Lily turned her head to see what they were walking towards and saw Severus Snape sitting under a tree, looking a textbook._

"_You don't think James is going to do what I think he's going to do?" Marlene asked as she looked towards the group of Gryffindors. _

_But Lily wasn't listening. She was too busy worrying about what James was going to. _

"_Hey Snivellus!" James called. _

_Severus looked up from his book, before he closed it and placed it in his bag. He stood up and started leave. _

"_Alright Snivellus," James said loudly. _

_Severus dropped his bag and quickly reached into his robes and his wand was halfway in the air when James shouted, "Expelliarmus!"_

_His wand flew into the air and landed with a small thud in the grass behind him. _

"_Impeditmenta!" James said, pointing his wand at Severus, who was knocked of his feet halfway through a dive towards his own fallen wand. _

_Other students had begun to surround James and Severus, forming a circle of bodies that Lily couldn't see through. _

_This isn't going to end well, Lily thought as she stood up. She quickly made her way towards the group of students. She had to shove her way through the students, but had finally managed to get to the middle of the circle. What she saw made her temper flare. _

"_Leave him ALONE!" Lily shouted_

_James and Sirius spun around._

"_All right, Evans?" James said._

"_Leave him alone," Lily repeated, looking at James with every sign of dislike. "What's he ever done to you?"_

"_Well," James said. "It's more the fact that he exists, if you know what I mean."_

_Many of the students who surrounded them laughed along with James and Sirius; but Lily didn't. _

"_You think you're funny," Lily said coldly. "But you're just an arrogant, bullying toerag, Potter. Leave him alone."_

"_I will if you go out with me, Evans," James replied. "Go out with me and I'll never lay a wand on old Snivelly again."_

"_I wouldn't go out with you if it was a choice between you and the giant squid," Lily said. "Now leave him alone."_

_James looked from Lily to Severus, who was still in the air, and sighed deeply before he muttered the counter-curse. _

"_Happy now?" James said, as Severus struggled to his feet. "You're lucky Evans was here, Snivellus—"_

"_I don't need help from filthy little Mudbloods like her!" Severus shouted back, as he picked up his bag and his wand, stuffing it into his robes. _

_Lily blinked, as she turned to look at Severus. She just stood there, staring at him, lost in her thoughts. She hadn't even heard what James had yelled._

* * *

Lily shook her head, trying to force the memory out. When she finally got her bearings back, she realized that someone she'd ended up in the Ancient Runes hallway. She turned around and slowly started to make her way back to the heads common room.

_Well, that just proves just how much people can change,_ Lily thought. Severus had turned from one of her friends to someone she couldn't stand and James had turned from someone she couldn't stand to her boyfriend.

When she reached the portrait, she said the password and walked inside. She made her way up the stairwell and towards her four-poster bed.

_People change and so do friendships,_ she thought before she finally fell asleep.


	2. Wasn't Meant to Be

AN: So this was written for round two of the Quidditch League. This was also written between one and two o'clock in the morning and started out as Scorpius/Rose but somehow turned into Lysander/Lily while Rose still makes an appearance. So leave a review and tell me what you think.

Team: Harpies

Position: Chaser 3

Song Lyrics: "drink the poison lightly cause there are deeper and darker things than you. I know, 'cause I've been there too." - I'm not the one, 3oh!3

Prompts: "I can honestly say that I do not care," less than perfect and who we were. *

Word count: 1,534

Disclaimer: I don't own anything. No copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

Wasn't Meant to Be

The blond sat at the bar, drowning his sorrows in firewhiskey. He normally wasn't one to drink something that strong, but right now, he desperately needed it. He'd do anything to get that image out of his mind.

He sighed as he took another long swig of the drink in front of him.

_How could she do that to me? How could she do that to us?_ he thought, sadly.

He knew she had a reputation. (But he didn't want to believe it.) He knew she was trouble. (But he thought he could handle her.) He knew he should stay away, but he just couldn't help himself. She was just too damn irrespirable. The way her long hair blew in the wind, the way her smile lit up her eyes, the way she wore her clothes a bit too tight and her skirts a bit too short.

There was just _something_ about her that he couldn't pull himself away from. She gave him a better buzz than any alcohol ever could. She was one of the greatest things to ever happen to him, but every good thing has to come to an end sometime.

_How could I have been so stupid?_

_I guess, it just wasn't meant to be._

He cursed himself for not believing everything he heard; for not listening to his gut. Now he was in the Hogs Head, in the middle of the day, without a girlfriend.

* * *

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you," a familiar voice said, interrupting his conversation. _

_He glanced away from his friend and turned his head towards the sound of the voice. Standing in front of the Ravenclaw table was none other than Rose Weasley. _

_He raised an eyebrow. "What wouldn't you do if you were me?"_

_Rose crossed her arms over her chest. "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about. Or do you not remember talking about asking Lily out?"_

_He glanced behind her, at the Slytherin table and saw the familiar redhead, laughing with her friends before turning his attention to his friend. "I'll see you later."_

_He stood up, grabbed his bag and walked out of the Great Hall, Rose behind him. _

_He finally stopped walking and turned around when he reached the corner of the Entrance Courtyard. He loosely crossed his arms over his chest. "So what if I was?"_

"_Lily is bad news, Ly," Rose told him, firmly. "She's nothing but trouble."_

_He held back a scoff. "Are you really sure about that? Or is this just some ploy to get me not to ask Lily out because of your old crush on me?"_

_Rose's eyes widen and her mouth dropped open but she didn't say anything. _

_Lysander grinned. "You didn't think I knew about that crush, did you? But I did."_

"_That's not the point!" Rose cried. "Besides, like you said, it was an old crush. I'm over it."_

"_Are you sure about that, Rose? Because the way you're acting says otherwise. You hate Lily and you hate that fact that I may actually like her. I think you're just jealous because you can't have who you want," he said, simply. "Lily may be the Slytherin, but I think you may be more cunning and sly than she is."_

_Rose shook her head. "I can't believe you honestly think I'm doing this out of spite!"_

"_What else could it be?" he retorted. _

"_Maybe it's the fact that you're one of my best friends and I don't want to see you get used and thrown away," Rose shouted. "Because that's what Lily does, she uses guys and then throws them away when she's ready to move on."_

"_I call bullshit on that, Rose," Lysander replied. "I'm not one to believe any of the rumors floating around Hogwarts and unlike you; I can see the good in people. It's one of the things I've learned from my mother… Now if you excuse me, I have a cousin of yours to ask to Hogsmeade."_

_He pushed past Rose as he walked away and didn't look back._

* * *

"Ly, is that you?" a voice asked, pulling him from his thoughts. "I thought I may find you here."

He clenched and unclenched his fist and mentally groaned when he recognized the voice. _What the hell was she doing here? _

_Because this is a public bar in Hogsmeade and she is seventeen, so technically she's old enough to be in here._

"I know I'm not the person you want to see right now," she went on. "But we need to talk…about what you think you saw."

Lysander downed the rest of his glass of firewhiskey and asked for a refill. He glanced over at the girl sitting next to him. The girl he thought he knew, but didn't really know at all. The girl he thought he loved and the one who shattered his heart.

He raised his glass to his lips. "I'll make this easy for you. Don't bother trying to explain anything to me, Lily, because I don't give a shit."

"Please hear me out," Lily pleaded. "It wasn't what you—"

"I can honestly say that I do not care," Lysander said, cutting her off. "I know what I saw. I know you're less than perfect and everyone has their faults, but I can't believe you would do that to me."

"It was nothing, I swear," Lily tried again. "Please give a chance to make it up to you."

Lysander scoffed. "So are you trying to tell me that you weren't snogging Michael Zabini in Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop, of all places? You went there for a date with him, didn't you?" He took another swig of firewhiskey. "And you can try as much as you'd like, but we will never get back to who we were."

Lily opened her mouth to continue, but Lysander waved a hand to stop her. "I said don't bother. I came all this way to surprise you on your Hogsmeade visit, only to be crushed by finding my girlfriend in someone's arms."

"But he kissed me!" she cried.

"Usually if someone gets kissed by someone they don't want to be kissed by, they push them off. Not to mention, friends normally don't go to Madam Puddifoots'," Lysander stated. "You looked pretty content with kissing him back with just as much—"He stopped and took a deep breath. He couldn't force himself to finish the sentence.

After a moment of silence, he went on. "You know, I honestly thought you were different than your reputation. I never believed it for a second, just like I never believed Rose when she said I was making a big mistake. But now, I know that everything I've heard about you is the truth and I was a complete bloody idiot for thinking otherwise."

"You're not an idiot, Ly."

"Don't call me that," Lysander told her. He dropped enough money on the counter to pay for his drinks and stood up. He glanced down at her. "And by the way, how many guys have you used that on?"

"What are you talking about?" she asked him, standing up and turning to face him.

"How many guys have you tried to sweet talk into believing that you didn't cheat on them?" he asked, his voice rising. "How many nice guys have you fucked over to get what you want?"

He started for the door without even waiting for an answer. He pushed through the door and into the cold winter air. He wrapped his scarf around his neck as he started walking away from the small village. After a while, he heard footsteps behind him and knew that Lily had followed him.

"Just leave me alone, Lily." He stopped and turned around to face her. "It's over between us, so stop trying. Run along back to Michael and snog him in the middle of the Entrance Hall."

Lily stared at him, but didn't say anything.

"If you can't stay committed to a relationship, why can't you just stay single?" Lysander told her before turning on his heel and apparating away.

He appeared outside the flat he shared with his brother. He walked to the front door, unlocked it and walked inside. He pulled off his scarf and jacket and just dropped them on the floor, not bothering to hang them up.

"Alright there, Ly," Lorcan asked from his seat on the couch.

Lysander shook his head before walking to the kitchen and pulling out his stash of firewhiskey.

"That stuff is going to kill you one of these days," Lorcan joked.

Lysander took a swig of the firewhiskey straight from the bottle without glancing at his brother. He knew he was only trying to joke to cheer him up, but he didn't care. He wasn't in the mood for jokes right now. No amount of jokes could make him crack a smile at the moment.

But he sort of wished that the alcohol would kill him, because it would be better than feeling like shit. Anything would be better than having your life screwed over by the girl he thought loved him and who he loved more than anything.


	3. Unexpected

AN: This is written for Round Three of the Quidditch Leaque, the Pairing Diversity Boot Camp: flabbergastesd, and the Pairing Set Boot Camp: Dom/Scorpius.

Prompts: Maybe, maybe not, "Forget about it," and blue.

Word Count: 1,615

Disclaimer: I'm not JK Rowling and I don't claim to be so I don't own anything Harry Potter nor do I profit from this.

* * *

Unexpected

Scorpius Malfoy stood off to the side with of the garden a cup of punch in his hand. He knew that he shouldn't have come, not after what happened between him and Rose. He was shocked that he hadn't been the cause of an argument yet, especially considering the fact that Rose's father who was very protective over her, didn't much like Scorpius and blamed _him_ for everything.

A situation that wasn't even his fault in the first place; he did everything possible to keep Rose happy – even at the expense of his happiness. But it was never enough. Nothing he did even mattered to her and that hurt him the most.

He honestly thought Rose was different and wasn't like other girls. Scorpius was shocked that she treated him like that after all that he'd done for her. He'd given her everything she ever wanted and needed.

_But it didn't matter. It never matter. _

He shook his head.

_Stop thinking about it,_ Scorpius told himself, firmly. _It wasn't your fault. _

The nagging voice in his brain spoke up again. _Or was it?_

Even though he knew that it wasn't his fault, he couldn't stop blaming himself and thinking that he could have done something different, something that would have kept them together.

"Why are you being a loner and standing alone by yourself?" a familiar female voice said, pulling him out of his thoughts. Scorpius didn't care enough to look and see who it was.

"Does it look like anyone would want to talk to me?" he retorted, taking a sip of his drink and glancing around the garden, as if to prove his point.

"Well, you showed up," she stated. "You obviously came for a reason….and who cares what everyone else thinks."

Scorpius turned to look at her and wished he hadn't. Standing before him was none other than Dominique Weasley, who was wearing her lavender Weasley sweater with a gold D stitched on the front. He slowly felt a strange feeling in his stomach that couldn't be shoved away.

_Don't tell me your old crush is coming back,_ he thought as he stared at her. _No, it can't be. That crush didn't mean anything and she's not in my league. _

"I'm still technically a family friend," Scorpius told her. "Even if a certain redheaded Weasley hates me. I'm completely sure that her father hates me too."

Dominique crossed her arms and stared at him. "Well, Uncle Ron thinks that his perfect little daughter can do no wrong; which is a load of bullshit."

Scorpius glanced over to where Ron stood talking with Bill and Charlie. "Forget about it," he said simply, thinking another sip of his drink.

"You're the one who brought it up," Dominique reminded him. After a moment of silence, she went on. "Do you still love her?"

Scorpius stared at her blankly. "Maybe," he said. "Maybe not."

"You don't sound too sure about that," Dominique said, tilting her head at him inquisitively. "So I'm guessing that you never did in the first place, but that's odd seeing as you were dating for three years."

Scorpius shrugged. "I don't know…I thought I did. I even thought that we would last forever, but I guess not; she obviously didn't feel the same way about us."

"Well, not everyone ends up with their Hogwarts boyfriend or girlfriend," Dominique said, a hint of sadness and anger mixed with venom in her voice.

Scorpius looked at her. "I guess we both know how the other feels."

Dominique leaned against a tree trunk. "We both know what it's like to be cheated on and hurt by someone you thought you knew." She scoffed. "I thought family was always supposed to be there for you. I never thought my own bloody cousin would make a move on my _boyfriend._"

Scorpius slowly turned his head and wished he hadn't. On the other side of the garden, Rose and Lorcan were sitting on a blanket underneath a tree, talking and giggling like schoolchildren.

"You know, it's sickening seeing your ex flirting with your cousin," Dominique said.

Scorpius looked at Dominique with a puzzled look. "How do you stand seeing them together?"

"I can't," she told him, truthfully. "Every time I see them together, I get this urge to hex the hell out of both of them. But Victoire, Molly and sometimes Roxanne hold me back. Vic even takes my wand away from me sometimes." She paused and looked at him for a moment. "How can you stand _that._"

Scorpius shrugged.

Dominique reached over, took Scorpius' cup and downed the rest of the liquid inside. "Figures," she said. "James must have spiked the punch."

"Maybe that was why I could handle seeing all the public displays of affections between Rose and Lorcan."

"There is a secret stash of fire whiskey in the old tree house," Dominique stated, ignoring Scorpius. She looked towards the edge of the garden where the largest tree stood.

"Why is it in the tree house?" Scorpius asked, puzzled.

Dominique shrugged. "It hasn't been used since Lily was seven or eight. And none of the adults go over there, so James and Fred thought it would be the perfect hiding spot. Honestly, it's pretty handy that it's there; I don't think I could go through family gatherings with Rose and Lorcan without causing a scene."

"I always thought you were one of the Weasleys who loved causing scenes?" Scorpius said to her, looking confused yet again.

Dominique gave a small smile. "In Hogwarts, I didn't care. But during a family gathering, I'd rather not have to face the wrath of Grandmum Molly – she's scary when she's angry. Besides, I don't want to ruin something that she worked so hard on." She looked over to where her mother was talking with Audrey and Angelina. "Not to mention, I would _never_ hear the end of it from my mother."

Scorpius fell into step beside Dominique as she slowly made her way over towards the treehouse. "Sounds like we both have one strict parent."

"For two people who couldn't be more different, we seem to have some things in common," Dominique stated before they fell into a comfortable silence.

As they walked, Scorpius couldn't help but notice Rose glance at the pair with a look on her face that resembled a mix of sadness and confusion.

_Why does she care who I decide to spend my time with?_ Scorpius thought. _She didn't seem to care when she decided to cheat on me with her own cousin's boyfriend._

A few moments later, they were sitting in the tree house with a few bottles of fire whiskey sitting between them, talking. Scorpius actually felt comfortable and content with talking with Dominique because she knew how he felt and knew that he didn't really want to talk about their situations.

Scorpius was surprised to learn that they have more in common than just their one strict parent, their situation and their Hogwarts house. They both liked the same Quidditch team, some of the same muggle bands, their favorite color was both green and they both didn't care what their families or anyone thought about them.

"You know, I never thought we'd actually end up talking like this," Dominique stated. "Since we never did at school because we never had classes or anything together. The four year age difference was too much."

Scorpius shrugged. "Some things just happen I guess. We didn't really choose for everything in our lives to go to hell."

"True," Dominique agreed, suppressing a small giggle that was caused by the fire whiskey. "It's funny really; how quickly things can change."

Scorpius glanced at her and couldn't help but get lost in her features. Her light blue eyes were protected by long, pale eyelashes. Her nose held a light trail of freckles and her long wavy, silvery-blonde hair fell halfway down her back.

He didn't know if it was because of the fire whiskey or his old crush, but he was feeling _something_ for Dominique in that moment.

"You know, I want to thank you," Dominique said, forcing Scorpius out of his thoughts.

"For what?"

Dominique pushed the empty bottles of fire whiskey out of her way and moved across the floor of the tree house until she was sitting next to Scorpius. "For letting me vent to you, for listening to me and just for being there for me."

"We were here for each other," Scorpius stated, reaching over and taking Dominique's hand in his own and gave it a reassuring squeeze.

Dominique leaned her head on his shoulder. "Thank you," she said again. "I don't know what I would have done if I couldn't have talked to you."

In a way, she was right, because Scorpius didn't know what he would have done if it weren't for her. They were united in this, not be choice, but by a force of will.

Scorpius shifted until they were face to face and he was slowly leaning forward and pressing his lips to Dominique's. He felt her hesitate for a split second before responding eagerly. His hands wrapped around her waist on their free will and he felt her hands tangle in his hair.

After a moment, they pulled apart for much needed air. Scorpius couldn't help but laugh and Dominique giggled along with him. If someone had told him in his fifth year that he would end up kissing Dominique Weasley he would have been flabbergasted and laughed in their face.

They weren't exactly a couple, but they were two people who understood each other. They found a solace in each other that they couldn't get anywhere else.


	4. Demons

AN: So I'm really not too sure how I feel about this...Leave a review and tell me what you thought maybe?

This was written for the Pairing Set Boot Camp: Lucius/Narcissa.

The Pairing Diversity Boot Camp: Retrospectively.

The House Cup Competition. Pairing: LuciusNarcissa. Quote: "Monsters are real and ghosts are real too. They live inside us and sometimes they win." – Stephen King. Dialogue: "That changes nothing," Object: Broken Quill and Emotion: relieved.

Also written for round four of the Quidditch League Competition. My prompts were: Malfoy Manor (setting), danger, stupid and below.

Word count: 1,081

* * *

Demons

_She walked to the edge of the balcony and placed her hands on the railing, letting the air blow through her hair. _

_Why did this all happen? She thought as she stared off into the night. _

_She heard footsteps in the room behind her, but she didn't bother turning around. She knew who it was but didn't care enough to want to talk to him. _

"_Narcissa," a familiar voice said, softly. _

_Narcissa didn't pull her gaze from the large garden and didn't even act as if she'd heard him. She heard footsteps as someone walked up to stand beside her and felt a hand on her shoulder. _

"_How long are you going to keep avoiding me?"_

_As long as needed, she thought but she couldn't bring herself to speak the words or to even look at him. _

"_Draco's fine," Lucius argued. "Everything's fine and there's nothing you need to worry about."_

"_Only because the Dark Lord's not around anymore to blackmail my son because of your foolishness," Narcissa stated, harshly – the venom clear in her voice. She turned around and walked back into their bedroom. _

"_There's not going to me anymore mistakes," Lucius tried. _

"_That changes nothing," Narcissa retorted, glaring at him. "Nothing you do anymore will change the fact that you're the one who caused everything and it won't change the fact that Draco doesn't want to speak to you." _

"_He'll come around…eventually, he's a confused teenager who was forced into a war that had nothing to do with him."_

"_Because he had a father who let him get forced into the middle of everything," Narcissa corrected. _

"_So you're blaming me for this?" _

_Narcissa crossed her arms and turned on her heel. "Well, I'm not the one who got sucked into the death eaters and put Draco in danger. I was just forced to go along in the hopes that I could keep him out of that life."_

_She slowly walked to the door and opened it. She motioned for Lucius to leave. "I'm sure one of the guest rooms will be fine for you tonight."_

_Lucius silently walked across the room and through the opened door. He turned around to say something but was only greeted with a door slamming in his voice._

* * *

The Blonde slowly crossed the center of her bed room and walked to the balcony door. She walked past the crumbled parchment and the broken quill that lay on the floor.

She pushed the doors opened to allow the cool night air to creep into the room; allowing her to breath. It was nice to have a moment alone to try to process her thoughts. Moments like that were few to none and she cherished them.

Not that it mattered, really. She was too upset to think straight – too much stuff had happened at once. Everything had gone to hell and she was stuck with the aftermath. She was relieved, of course, that everything was finally over. But she still couldn't shake her feeling from the war.

Everything was out of her control and she hated it. She liked being in control of her life, instead of hiding in the sidelines and letting someone else tell her what to do.

She couldn't stand the fact that the death eaters had taken over _her_ house as their headquarters and had made a giant mess of the manor, especially room just below her.

She sighed.

She blamed herself for everything. The danger her son was in was all her fault. How could she have been so stupid to let him get involved in this? She was his mother – she should have protected him and kept him away from all this.

But nothing she did was enough.

She slowly turned around and her gaze lingered on the parchment and quill that littered the floor. She'd gotten annoyed at trying to write a letter and had balled the parchment up and broke the quill.

She was wasting her time after all; what's done was done. It was too late for her to even bother writing to her only living sister; a sister who wouldn't want anything to do with her anyway – not after everything that happened when they were teenagers.

Narcissa had sided with their family while Andromeda had decided to run away and make her own decisions.

She never admitted it to anyone but she always looked up to Andromeda, especially the day she left. Because she did something that Narcissa couldn't even dream of having the strength or the courage to do; she walked out on her family's dark way and came out a better person.

Narcissa, on the other hand, stayed silent and just went along with what her parents said. She was too much of a coward to do anything else and was afraid of the consequences if she didn't. Instead of listening to her heart and doing what was really right, she listened to her brain and did what her family told her was right.

_Everyone has their demons._

"There are two kinds of people in the world," she said softly.

_Those who let their demons control them and those who fight against them. _

She was one of the ones who let their demons control them. She's decided that she's not going to be that person anymore – she's not going to be controlled.

The argument she'd had with Lucius just a few moments ago proved that.

Narcissa didn't know what had come over her, but she had just been so annoyed and anger that everything just came out in that moment. A part of her felt that Lucius just didn't care about their son's safety as much as she had. And he had only proven that through his actions throughout the war.

Narcissa closed the balcony doors and slowly turned around. She couldn't help but stare at the rumbled parchment again.

Making up her mind, she crossed the floor, picked up the parchment and quill and threw them in the trash. She walked over to the small desk on the other side of the room and starting writing a short letter to her sister for the second time.

Even if it was pointless, Narcissa still had to try. She was one of Andromeda's only living relatives left.

She folded the letter and placed it in an envelope before tying it to her owl's leg and sending it off into the night.

Everyone has their demons and she wasn't going to let hers control her anymore.


	5. Starting Anew

AN: I'm not exactly sure about this because this is only the second time I've wrote Percy and the first time I've written Audrey. So go easy on me maybe? And please leave a review telling me what you thought because I really appreciate it.

This was written for the Pairing Diveisty Boot Camp Challenge (impetuous) and the Flower Language Challenge (Gladiolus)

Also written for round five of the Quidditch League Competition with the prompts; "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view – until you climb into his skin and walk around in it." – To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee. Dialogue: Who is she? and Radio. (Harpies, Chaser 3.)

Word count: 1,908

Disclaimer: I'm am obviously not a British writing by the name of JK Rowling so anything you recognize is obviously not mine.

* * *

Starting Anew

_It's the best thing for your career,_ the voice inside his head constantly tells him.

And being the person that he is, he listens to it. He walks out of on his family, cuts all ties with them and refuses to acknowledge them. Because he's more worried about his job than anything else and to him, image is everything. Especially for the Junior Assistant to the Minister.

He sends his Weasley sweater back to his mother, unopened which most likely leaves her in tears. As much as it kills him to do it – he feels like it's the right thing to do. This job means everything to him and so he does the first thing he think he should do.

Even if his family may never forgive him.

* * *

_He's dead. _

_Dumbledore's dead. _

_Killed by Snape – of all people._

Percy's always appreciated Dumbledore so he goes to the funeral but he stays towards the back. His family won't want to see him – not after what happened. He doesn't really blame them, he deserves it.

He sees Ginny leaning towards Harry for support and crying which causes his heart to break. He wishes he could reach out and place a comforting hand on her shoulder; but he can't do that. He lost that privilege a long time ago.

He disappears as quietly as he appeared – too ashamed to face anyone.

* * *

The ministry's not the same anymore. Not since you-know-who has taken it over (he's not at all comfortable with saying his name out loud.) But he suffers through it, quietly. It's all he can do, since he can't go home. Not after how he left things with his mum and his family.

_That is all your fault, Percy._

_You're the one who walked out without looking back. _

He had been so obsessed with his job and his image that he completely overlooked his family. A family that was _always _there for him and a family that he really never appreciated – one he took for granted. He didn't realize what he had until he lost it and he was regretting his decision to leave.

* * *

He spends most of his free time, sitting in his flat, listening to _Potterwatch._ It's one of the few things that keep him sane when everything around him is going to hell.

He's relieved when he doesn't hear his family's names when they tell the deaths. That means that they're safe – for now, at least. Even if he doesn't know where they are, they're safe and that's what keeps him going.

* * *

_Lightening has struck. _That's the code word that everyone's been waiting for. Harry's at Hogwarts and a battle is slowly brewing.

As soon as he hears the words on _Potterwatch_, he's on his feet and running out the door faster than Oliver Wood can say Quidditch.

He's acting impetuous, but he doesn't care. This is one impulse that he's sure about.

He will fight and fight hard. He'll put everything he has into this battle. His family may still hate him, but he'll feel better knowing that he's done something good for once in his life.

He can't just sit around at home like a bloody coward while his whole family is out there, risking their lives. He's a Gryffindor for Godric's sake.

* * *

He's hurrying down the tunnel connecting the Hogs Head to Hogwarts and hopes that he isn't too late. He clambers out of the end of the tunnel and lands on the floor with a great thump. He uses the edge of a nearby chair to pull himself up.

His glasses are lopsided, but he doesn't care enough to fix them. "Am I too late? Has it started? I only just found out, so I—I—"

He splutters into silence after he takes in the scene in front of him. Standing around the room is his whole family – who don't look real happy to see him.

He purses his lips together, trying to think of something to say, but he doesn't know what to say. What he _should_ say. What do you say to your family after you walked out on them as horribly as he did? He hadn't exactly expected to run into most of his family that soon in the night.

There's a terrible tension in the air and it's making him quite uncomfortable – even with Fleur trying to break the ice with a question about Teddy.

"I was a fool!" Percy cries at random, bringing up what Gryffindor courage that he can. "I was an idiot…I am an idiot. A pompous prat."

"You're a Ministry-loving, family-disowning, power-hungry moron," Fred states.

"Yes," Percy says, agreeing. "I was."

* * *

Percy's running down a corridor with Fred and George when he sees _him._ Anger flares up in the pit of his stomach and he's appalled that he once _backed_ him. He couldn't believe that he had been stupid enough to turn his back on his family.

"Hello, Minister!" he yells, sending a jinx straight at Thicknesse. "Did I mention that I'm resigning?"

"Are you joking, Percy!" Fred yells. "I don't think I've—" but his words were cut off because of an huge explosion just a few feet away.

It all happens so fast that he doesn't even process it until it's too late. He's thrown backwards into the wall and slowly slides to the floor. When he gets to where he can see, he can see his brother laying on the floor, unmoving and his stomach drops.

_Not Fred…No! _

_Anything but Fred. _

_It can't be. He can't be…_

He finds himself walking towards the lifeless body but doesn't remember telling his feet to move. Before he knows it, he's kneeling next to his brother's body, shaking him. As if that could wake him up – but it couldn't.

Nothing would.

Fred was dead.

There wasn't a damn thing Percy or anyone could do to help him.

Fred's eyes stared without seeing, the ghost of his last laugh still etched upon his face.

_This is my fault._

* * *

Harry's dead. Their last hope has been killed but that doesn't stop anyone.

They're not going to give up so easily. Not without a fight. They've come too far to give up now.

He can't give up, not now. He will avenge Fred's death if it's the last thing he does.

* * *

"NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH!"

He spins around and sees his mum running towards Bellatrix, her wand clutched tightly and pointed straight at her.

He stands off to the side with everyone else as he watches his mother's duel with Bellatrix Lestrange and Voldemort's duel with Kingsley, Slughorn and McGonagall.

His mother kills Bellatrix. Harry's alive. Voldemort is finally dead.

It's finally over. They've done it, but he doesn't feel victorious.

* * *

"We did it, we bashed them, wee Potter's the one and Voldy's gone moldy, so now let's have fun!" he hears Peeves shouting up and down the hallways.

But Percy doesn't feel like having fun. He doesn't feel like doing anything. His brother is _dead _because he couldn't do anything to save him.

Maybe he's a coward after all. What kind of person just stands by and lets their brother get killed?

He's not worth the Weasley name.

* * *

He's standing in the great hall, staring down his brother's lifeless body and he feels himself shaking.

_This isn't fair. _

Fred's gone and George is a wreck.

_That should be me._

* * *

George is walking towards him and before he knows it, he's being pulled in for a hug. He doesn't know why George does it, but he's the first to welcome him back into the family.

Percy can't fandom why; Fred's death was _his_ fault. He didn't deserve to be counted as a Weasley anymore – not after what he did.

But maybe he can understand why George did it. He'd just lost a brother and he doesn't want to lose another one. So he's doing anything he can to not let that happen.

* * *

It's a week after Fred's funeral when he sees her after he agrees to have a talk with Kingsley at the Ministry. A beautiful woman with wavy, brown hair that falls past her shoulders and bright and cheerful brown eyes is standing a few feet away, talking with another woman.

"Percy," Kingsley says, trying to get his attention.

Percy shakes himself out of the daydream and glances over at Kingsley. "I'm sorry, what did you say?"

Kingsley gives a small smile. "Go talk to her."

"One question," Percy asks. "Who is she?"

"Audrey Collins; department of International Magical Cooperation."

* * *

He doesn't know why he does it or what he's thinking. After all, he's not good with these kinds of things. He's hardly ever had a girlfriend before and rarely asked girls out. Penelope has been his first and only girlfriend.

But he's standing in front of her, introducing himself and then asking her out on a date.

* * *

Their first date is in her favorite muggle coffee house. She's already sitting at a nearby table when he pushes through the door. There's a radio, playing music softly in the distance and for the first time in a month, he feels calm.

"I'm not late, am I?"

She shakes her head. "I'm just early."

They chat and learn more about each other and soon are laughing as if they've known each other forever. He learns that she was a Ravenclaw just a year below him and was a prefect as well, her favorite color's purple and she's a muggle-born.

He smiles as she tells a story about when her younger sister climbed up in a tree after her pet cat and refused to come down.

* * *

They meet more times after that in muggle restaurants, they took a stroll through a park and she even dragged him to a muggle theater to see a movie.

It was weird, but Percy soon got used to it and enjoyed the movie – even if he didn't have a clue what was going on.

"I've had fun," Percy says as they're walking down the sidewalk towards her house.

Audrey nods. "I have too…More fun than I've had in a while."

Percy falls quiet. It still feels weird that he's out having fun and having a life when Fred was robbed of that freedom.

Audrey cocks her head. "Whatever it is you're thinking it's not your fault."

Percy looks at her and raises an eyebrow with a confused look on his face.

"It's obvious," she replies. "Everyone is still thinking about the war. I still do; things happened that I wish hadn't. But it was out of my control and it's something that I can't change…Don't beat yourself up over something that's happened that you can't go back and fix. It'll only drive you insane."

_She's right._

Somehow her words stick more than anything his family has told him recently.

* * *

The next time they meet by chance in Diagon Alley where they accidentally bump into each other. After sharing a laugh, they decide to go to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor.

That's when Percy finally plucks up the courage to kiss her and he's even happier when she kisses him back.

For the first time in months, Percy finally feels content and happy. This is finally his chance to start anew and make a new beginning. To forget about the past and just worry about his future.


	6. Drama

AN: So um, this is kind of a sequel to "Unexpected," but can completely be read on its own. I really don't know where this came from – it just kinda happened and I'm not sure how I feel about it. Or if it fits the Soap Opera Style genre that I had to work with.

This is written for round 6 of the Quidditch League with the prompts; "Never regret. If it's good, it's wonderful. If it's bad, it's experience," Victoria Holt, Dialogue: The curse has been in our family for six generations and trap.

Genre: Soap Opera Style

Word count: 1,645

* * *

Drama

He sat near the large window in the living room of his house, staring out at the garden, watching the rain fall in slow drizzles. He slowly ran a hand through his hair as he took a deep breath.

He's made some bad decisions in his life, but he's also made some good ones and that should count for something, shouldn't it? It didn't necessarily make him a bad person.

He looked down at the family ring he wore on his right ring finger. As much as he didn't want to wear it, he felt drawn to always wear it. As much as he hated the object, it brought him somewhat good luck.

"Are you alright?" a familiar voice asked, pulling him from his thoughts.

The blond slowly turned his head around to look at the person who had walked into the room.

"How did you get in?" he asked, not trying to hide the venom on his voice. He knew that his tone had hurt her, because she took a small step backwards.

"Your mother let me in," she explained, as she courageously took a step forward.

He turned around. "I don't see why. She knows that I don't want to see people right now and I sure as hell don't want to see you."

"I know you hate me, Scorpius," she said. "And I know that it's not going to do any good, but I came to say I was sorry."

Scorpius slowly stands and turned to face her, crossing his arms across his chest. "It's far too late for that, Rose," he said, firmly.

The redhead looked at her feet.

"You cheated on me with Lorcan," Scorpius told her. "Your own _cousin's_ boyfriend. What the hell is wrong with you? I thought the Weasley's were supposed to be a close family? I never would have guessed you, of all people, would backstab your own relatives."

"Scorp," she tried to plead.

"Don't call me that," Scorpius closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them and staring at her. "Only my friends have the right to call me that and you aren't one of them. Not anymore. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."

He quickly left the room, not caring enough to stay to see if she left. He didn't care – he just needed to get away from her and all the crap she brought with her.

* * *

"I've really ruined everything, Lily," Rose said, tears in her eyes as she sat on her best mate's couch. Lily was her only cousin who would speak to her at the moment. "He refuses to even talk to me."

"Honestly Rosie," Lily started. "You can't really blame him considering…" she trailed off.

Rose sighed. "I know…It's all my fault and there's not a damn thing I can do to fix it. I've really screwed everything up."

"We always can't get everything we want," Lily said, glancing out the window before looking back at Rose. "Life doesn't work like that, especially with us."

"The curse has been in our family for six generations," Rose said, sadly.

The curse that seemed to target just certain Weasley's – they couldn't be happy, no matter what they tried. It was like they were stuck in a trap and couldn't get loose. Nothing they did ever helped and only made everything worse.

_Why do I even try?_ Rose asked herself.

"Whatever you do, don't beat yourself up over this," Lily told her. "The best thing you can do is just let Scorpius go."

_But I can't do that._

As much as she knew Scorpius hated her, she still had to try because the Weasley's were stubborn people.

* * *

It was another family gathering and as much as she didn't want to come, she did because of her grandma. She didn't want her to worry much or hover over her. So she showed up and she'd dragged Scorpius with her so she wouldn't have to face it alone.

"I gave her everything," he said softly, more to himself than to anyone. He glanced at the blonde standing across from him and gave a sad smile.

They both felt terrible and hurt because of the same reasons. They found a solace in each other that they wouldn't find anywhere else.

"You've got to stop that, Scorpius," Dominique told him, firmly. "I know it's hard because she was your first love but you've just got to do it. It's not easy, trust me."

Both of them had been cheated on by their first loves – it was funny because Rose and Lorcan had cheated on them with one another. It's weird how things work out like that.

He sighed and took a small drink of his fire whiskey. "Maybe."

"Scorpius?"

_Oh shit, _he thought.

"I don't think you're welcome here," he heard Dominique answer for him. It was a good thing too because he wasn't sure he would be able to speak.

"I don't believe I was talking to you," Rose replied. "It doesn't concern you."

Dominique stood up from her chair, crossed her arms tightly over her chest and narrowed her eyes. "When you cheat on Scorpius with _my_ boyfriend, it _does_ concern me. I think it would be of everyone's best interest if you left, now."

"I need to talk to Scorpius."

"Don't bother," Scorpius told her, finally finding his voice. "I have nothing to say to you and I thought I made that clear the other day."

"You heard him," Dominique said. "And if I were you, I wouldn't bother coming back."

"Scorpius is a friend—

Dominique cut her off. "He _was_ your friend. As in past tense. You ruined everything when you decided to slip and fall into bed with Lorcan like a little whore."

"Excuse you?" Rose yelled.

"I think you hear me well enough," Dominique said, her voice rising with each word. "It's the truth, isn't it?"

"You think you're better than everyone else, don't you?" Rose scoffed. "Lily and I are just scum on the bottom of your shoe, aren't we?"

"I've never cheated on my boyfriend with anyone else," Dominique said. "And there's a big difference between you and Lily. She at least admits to al the shit she does instead of pretending like nothing happened."

Rose scoffed again.

"You're really pathetic," Dominique added, before turning away. She took a deep breath and clenched and unclenched her first, fighting the urge to punch Rose in the face.

"I'm pathetic?" Rose questioned. "When _you_ are the one who throws herself at guys?"

"Harmless flirting and throwing myself at guys are two very different things, Rosie," Dominique said. "Besides, I've never slept with anyone I've flirted with. Unlike yourself."

Dominique ducked as Rose's fist came close to her face and quickly shot a hex back at her. A wand fight between Rose and Dominique quickly broke out after that.

"Are you seriously doing this right now Rose?" Dominique said as she shot a boil hex straight at Rose which hit her in the face.

Rose screamed as he face broke out in boils.

"Dominique Gabrielle Weasley!"

"Rose Evelyn Weasley!"

_Shit_, Dominique thought as she quickly put her wand away, but it was far too late – she was already in trouble. Her mother and her Aunt Hermione were quickly making their way over to the two girls and they didn't look happy.

"Dominique," Fleur said as she came to a stop in front of her youngest daughter. "You are twenty two years old, what were you thinking?"

"Rose est lagarce immature qui démarré, pas moi," Dominique replied in rapid French, a clear sign that she was pissed off.

"Dominique, regarder votre langue," Fleur replied.

Dominique crossed her arms over her chest and rolled her eyes. "As if Rose didn't deserve it."

"I didn't do anything," Rose yelled over her mother's shoulder.

"Look," Hermione said, firmly. "I don't know what's going on between you two, but you need to figure it out and _fix_ it."

Hermione lead Rose away and Dominique's attention was forced back to her mother.

"I'm not going to say I'm sorry for what I did," she said, simply. "Because I'm not sorry. But I will apologize for causing a scene." Dominique added before quickly turning and walking away from her mother before she could be yelled at anymore.

* * *

"So what exactly was that?" Scorpius asked.

Dominique looked over at the blond boy who was climbing through the trap door in the tree house.

"How did you find me?"

Scorpius smirked. "Have you forgotten what happened between us up here during the last Weasley get together?"

Dominique gave a sly smile. "No, I haven't...Rose just gets under my skin and pushes my buttons. I shouldn't let it happen but I just can't help it."

"Let it go," Scorpius told her simply. "Rose isn't worth it."

Dominique took a sip of fire whiskey. Maybe he was right, Rose wasn't worth it. But that didn't mean that she was just going to sit by quietly when Rose did something she didn't agree with.

She sure as hell wasn't just going to sit around and let Rose screw over her friends and act as if she didn't have a care in the world.


	7. Broken Ties

AN: Originally I had no idea what in the world to write about, but then I thought that I would just do Bellatrix's point of view of Andromeda leaving which I wrote a long time ago, so this story is pretty similar to that one.

This was written for The Flower Language Challenge for Orchid – write about Bellatrix Lestrange

Also written for Round 8 of the Quidditch League Competition which is all about the Black family and I got Bellatrix :)

Prompts; A tap on the window, sleepless nights and "That's not what you said last night."

Word count: 1,225

* * *

Broken Ties

The woman with the untamable, curly mess of long black hair sat in a chair in the corner of the dark living room. It was the chair she always sat in – especially at night.

It was somewhere between midnight and one in the morning on September 1, 1971. The moon shined through the window and washed over the room, casting a dull, dark glow on the furniture. She loved the tint that the moon gave.

She'd seen it even for the past few weeks since she hadn't been sleeping much. And when she did, she never had a full night's sleep. Most nights, she was out doing things for The Dark Lord with Rodolphus and other nights the company her parents had was far too loud.

Sometimes she hated being a light sleeper but for the most part, it came in handy. The light thumps coming from her younger sister's room were what woke her up. Bellatrix knew right away what was going on and so she had made her way to the living room.

A tap on the window drew her attention from her thoughts. She turned her head for a minute to see and hear the pitter patter of raining knocking against the glass. In a weird way, she actually enjoyed the sound of the rain hitting the glass –it relaxed her; not that she'd tell anyone that.

She was proud to have finally been able to join Voldemort and his Death Eaters and make something of her life. She had married Rodolphus Lestrange a couple of months ago because of her parents. She would make them proud – unlike a certain _'sister'_ of hers.

She glanced down and her left forearm and a smile formed on her lips. Less than a month after she had left Hogwarts, the bare skin of her arm was covered with the Dark Mark.

The sound of footsteps pulled her from her thoughts again.

She pulled her gaze from the window and turned towards the door that led into the hallway, leading to the front door. She stood up and silently made her way towards the noise.

She casually leaned against the doorframe and lit her wand, waiting as the urgent foot falls of someone in a hurry echoed along the silent corridor.

"Shouldn't you be asleep," Bellatrix told the familiar figure that had just stepped off the staircase. She raised her wand higher to cast a glow over the space and allowing her to see her sister standing in front of her.

Andromeda used her free hand to shield her eyes from the wand light. "I could tell you the same thing," a familiar voice replied.

Bellatrix lowered her wand. "You're leaving, aren't you?"

"Leaving is the only choice I have," Andromeda replied. "It's something I have to do."

"That's not what you said last night. But of course, you would say anything to keep Mother and Father from finding out what you're really planning on doing." Bellatrix sneered at her. "You're leaving to go see that _Mudblood_, aren't you?" she spat the word.

"His. Name. Is. _Ted,_ Bella," Andromeda retorted, leaving a space between each word.

A moment of uncomfortable and awkward silence past between the sisters; Bellatrix stood with her arms tightly crossed across her chest while Andromeda just stood with her arms loosely at her sides. They stood a few feet apart, staring at the other.

"Why does it matter anyway?" Andromeda said after a while. "There's nothing going on between Ted and I anyway – but why would it matter if there was?"

Bellatrix scoffed again. "You're a _Black_ in case you've forgotten and he's a _Mudblood._ Don't tell me you've forgotten everything you were taught and everything you live for?"

"You know, this blood purity crap is getting quite old," Andromeda retorted. "He's no different than you or me."

"He's a disgrace to blood purity," Bellatrix said, firmly. "You're a Black and a Pureblood, Andromeda. Why don't you start acting like it?"

_What on earth was Andy thinking?_ Bellatrix thought.

"Just because the Black blood runs through my veins doesn't mean that I should be forced to believe in the same pathetic views the family believes in, Bellatrix," Andromeda said, standing her ground.

"Our views are pathetic?" Bellatrix almost screeched. "How can you possibly just turn your back on everything you were taught? What happened to you?" she murmured the last part mostly to herself.

Bellatrix took a breath before speaking in a louder voice. "I really hoped that you learn where your loyalties lied this past two years. I thought it was just a phase of teenage rebellion you went through that would pass. I guess I was wrong."

Andromeda just stood in the entryway, staring at her sister with her mouth opened as if she wanted to say something but wasn't sure what to say.

The two sisters stood there, glaring at one another for a few moments. Bellatrix was trying not to blow up at Andromeda because she was technically still her sister. But a part of her was sure that they hadn't been sisters for a while now. Their relationship had been strained for years now and with each passing day; it had only gotten worse and worse.

_If she wants to go and wreck her life why should I stop her?_

"Fine," Bellatrix spat the word, using every ounce of venom she could muster up. "Go if you must. Run off to that pathetic little Mudblood you so desperately cling to as an escape from the only world you know."

"Alright," Andromeda spoke, so softly that Bellatrix almost didn't hear her.

Bellatrix watched as Andromeda slowly backed towards the front door with her suitcase held so tightly in her hand that her knuckles were turning white.

"But just know this," Bellatrix began. "If you walk out that door, you walk out on your family. You'll be burned off the family tree and never be allowed back in this house again. You'll be going against your family. If you do that, you're no sister of mine."

Bellatrix could feel every ounce of hatred and venom in each of her own words, but she didn't care. It had to be said. If Andromeda wanted so bad to leave – she had to know the consequences of that.

"You've changed."

Bellatrix glanced to where Andromeda stood, a few inches from the door. "You're no longer the Bella I thought I knew. You're not my sister anymore and you haven't been for months now. Not since you went and got that idiotic mark and got married to that awful Lestrange."

"_I've_ changed?" Bellatrix snorted and felt her eyes narrow. "Looks like you should be looking in a mirror, _sis,__" her words dripping in sarcasm. _"I'm doing what's right. If you knew any better, you'd join the Death Eaters too. They're going to be the winning side."

"I'll take my chances," Andromeda told her. "Besides, you're wrong about who will win, Bella."

Bellatrix scoffed and rolled her eyes.

Bellatrix shook her head. "Go on and walk out on everything you know. See if I care. But know this, from now on, we're on opposite sides."

Bellatrix put out her wand and put it away. In the pale light in the hallway, she watched as the door opened and the figure of her sister walked out.


	8. All She Lost

AN: This was written for the Story Beginnings Challenge and round 9 of Quidditch League. The prompt I was give was, "What if Harry Potter had died in the forest at the end of DH?" So this is obviously AU.

In my mind, even if Harry was killed, I still think they would have won since all of the horcruxes would have been destroyed.

Prompts: An undelivered letter, Dialogue: "Look it doesn't matter – forget it, okay?" and Sentence: s/he's too quiet these days.

Word count: 1,206

* * *

All She Lost

Not all fairy tales have happy endings. Maybe she should have realized this when her relationships with Michael and Dean ended before they really started. She never really understood why though.

She had never had a problem with making new friends or attracting guys. But none of that had mattered to her – at least not anymore. In fact, nothing really mattered to her lately. She just didn't care and didn't know if that would change.

She's too quiet these days. That's what everyone around her has said, but she's never noticed. Maybe it's because she hasn't been paying much attention – to anything. Not even in class and she's been yelled at by many teachers because of it.

She hasn't been interested in anything she used to either. She's even quit the Quidditch team. She can't bear to stand out on the pitch because all it does is remind her of _him._

She knows she's being ridiculous, but she can't help it. She's feels broken and lost and confused. And being out at the pitch just makes that worse.

It's her final year of Hogwarts. She should be happy but she's not. She's hasn't been the same since that day. The words still haunt her mind.

The war's finally over and their side won but she lost so much more.

Her brother's gone and she'll never hear his laughter again or be the victim of one of his practical jokes and George will never be the same again.

And _those _words still haunt her nightmares.

_Harry Potter is dead!_

She never believed it – she couldn't believe it. But in the end, she had no choice.

"He's gone."

"Ginny, are you alright?" she hears a familiar voice say.

It's only then that she realizes she had spoken the words out loud. She turns her head to find Luna standing in front of the table, staring down at her.

"Yeah," she replies, slowly. "I'm fine."

"You're not," Luna says, as matter of fact as only Luna can be.

Ginny shakes her head, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She simply shrugs her shoulders, not wanting to say anything more.

Luna walks away, leaving the other girl in her sorrow, muttering something about the nargles and how they must be bothering her.

A small smile appears on Ginny's lips at Luna's mention of the nargles.

_Same old Luna. _

She sighs. In some ways, she wishes that it was just the nargles clouding her mind. Then maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. Maybe then she could still feel _normal _– inside of this empty, walking shell.

She glances down at the blank parchment in front of her. She rubs her eyes and runs her fingers through her hair.

She can't even concentrate enough to bother working on her potions essay.

_It's been four months, Ginny. Get yourself together,_ she scolds herself. _You're a Weasley for Godric's sake – what the bloody hell is wrong with you?_

A soft groan escapes her lips as she finds herself moving her gaze towards the window next to the table. Glancing across the vast grounds, she wishes nothing more than to be anywhere but here.

"Wallowing in guilt and despair won't do you any good," she hears another familiar voice say from behind her.

She jumps a little and silently curses herself. She's never been this jumpy before.

_Why can't everyone just leave me alone?_

Her visitor takes a seat across the table from her but Ginny doesn't even acknowledge that she's there. "It's not healthy, Gin."

"Look it doesn't matter – forget it, okay?" Ginny replies. She finally pulls her gaze from the window to look her in the face. "I know you mean well Hermione, but—"she trails off.

Hermione sighs. "I know…you don't care."

"It's not that I don't care – it's just," she stops and takes a breath. "It's…I've never felt like this before and I guess that I don't know how to handle it."

"You're not the only one who's still hurting Ginny," Hermione says. "Harry was like a brother to me and now that he's—"

Ginny solemnly nods. "Life never was fair, was it?"

Hermione shakes her head. "Have you taken up my advice from earlier? Ridiculous as it was, it could help." She adds before she stands up and walks away.

Ginny watches as she walks around out of the library before letting her gaze drop to the blank parchment that still sits in front of her.

Giving up on her essay, she closes the textbook that sits off to the side and picks up her quill, slowly dipping it in her ink bottle.

_It couldn't hurt, could it?_

She's kept all her emotions bottled up inside of her for four months now which wasn't real healthy. Maybe Hermione was right – she did need to find some way to release all her pent up emotions.

She lets her shoulders relax before placing her newly inked quill to the top of the parchment and beginning to write...

_Dear Harry, _

_It's kind of bloody insane and ridiculous that I'm writing a letter to you. It's not as if you'll actually ever read it. But Hermione suggested I do it to get my mind off of everything. It may not be the most perfect suggestion but I mean, it can't hurt, can it? It's better than constantly being bitter and confused. _

_Anyway, I do miss you even if we weren't in an official relationship anymore – or were we? I guess it doesn't matter anymore since …well, you know. _

_It's been four months and everyone around me is slowly returning to normal or so it seems. I know that I should be moving on with them, but I just can't. Things are different now – they were different the second after your death was announced. _

_I thought for sure that our luck was gone after that. That Voldemort would win and we'd all be screwed. But somehow we came out victorious. Although, I don't feel victorious – I've lost you and Fred and so many other innocent people were killed. _

_It's not bloody fair. _

_But isn't that life?_

_I can imagine you up there; watching Fred playing pranks with Sirius and Tonks with Mad-Eye screaming at them – while Remus snickers in the background…I guess you're in a better place now with your parents. _

_You're probably happy up there. But I selfishly wish that you were still here with me and Ron and Hermione and mum. We all miss you. It's just not the same. _

_Life isn't the same anymore and I don't know if it ever will be again. _

_Maybe it will, though. One can hope._

_Ginny. _

She folds the letter and places it in the front of her journal. Obviously, she isn't going to send it – there is no one to send it _to._

Writing it did help her, if only for a little while.

_Maybe I'll write one every few months._

Life would be hard without Harry – for everyone, but she knew that she would get along just fine, eventually. In time, the brokenness in her heart would hopefully heal into a dull ache and she would be able to move on.

Not all fairytales have happy endings and this is no exception


End file.
